Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018)

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The truth or lack thereof in the claims made by Christians are not the focus of this review.

I found the movie to be leaden and dismal, yet strangely lacking in horrific depictions of the torture of Christians in Rome under Nero.  The emperor's reign of terror ia described everywhere, to be sure.  The impact was not obvious to this viewer - or not as obvious and all-encompassing as I would have imagined.

The key to the movie, I believe, is the character of the Prefect, Mauritius.  He is the relatable/humanizing element to a modern audience.  Out of necessity, the struggling masses don't get to do much other than react to some new form of terror which befalls them.  Please understand I am not taking a position as to the value of those folks, nor of their described martyrdom.   I am writing in terms of moviemaking choices.

It was odd to me that Paul appeared to speak more forcefully and with greater authority in the scenes where there was relative tranquility.  It is quite powerful indeed when one proclaims gratitude for their suffering a cause.  I would hope I have the same courage if ever put into a situation demanding such.  Yet, his wisdom and power were more obvious when things were good for him, and Luke.  No way was that the intention of the producers.

Mauritius was just not menacing enough to be a Prefect smack dab in the middle of Rome.  He absolutely went along with egregious decrees, but personally, we never see any bloodlust nor any desire to be mean, for meanness' sake.  A dude in that spot, under a paranoid cray cray like Nero simply could not survive the position very long unless he were ruthless.  I also had difficulty with his thick Spanish accent.

Two moments really did standout marvelously for me:  The first is when Christians are being released into the Colosseum to be slaughtered by beasts.  The second is the very end, which evoked for me the ending of Schindler's List.  These were very powerful images.

There is much gore hinted at, but very little actually depicted.  This was an excellent choice.  It is decidedly NOT a movie for children - of faith or not.   I would play it at home if I wanted to expose them to the important themes explored.  In a theater, they will be bored beyond measure and they will likely have good questions which would require a lot of attention.  Not a good moviegoing experience for youngins.

If you profess to be Christian, this is an almost must-see movie.  If you are about the craft of film or storytelling, I'm betting you will be a tad disappointed.